hot and sticky

Hello there, thought I'd disappeared for a bit, did you? Needless to say, I've been tired and dealing with a bunch of stupidly complicated interpersonal issues, so it hasn't been the best of weeks. And this despite the fact that my print journalism debut finally "hit" mailboxes and record stores in the form of Big Shot Magazine's newest issue. Find my articles on United Visual Artists and UNKLE wherever fine publications are sold. (Psst: I know that Big Shot is sold at Kim's and Halcyon, if you happen to be in New York City). (Also worth mentioning that I am working on a BIG feature on Underground Resistance for a future issue of the magazine-- more updates on that soon).

Well, one more day without new tunes won't kill you, so be prepared for some great stuff coming tomorrow from Popnebo, Quiet Village Project, and a special surprise!

speed and dust

Dusty Kid (a member of Duoteque) has been raising quite a storm recently, what with his monstrous "Tsunamy," his tracks' Bodzin-like bass throb, and a penchant for whooshing, high-frequency washes and melodic stabs. One of his more recent singles from the Anatome EP Volume 1, "Psika," is more evidence that the Kid knows how to create banging techno with class.
"Psika" begins with a percussion and didgeridoo-like loop that does a stellar job of introducing the pulsating bass that crawls throughout the track. The dominant melodic synth line is a sinister collection of four close notes, and the eventual secondary line-- like plucked violin strings-- creates even more of a claustrophobic atmosphere. Then, the original line is opened up and liberated by high-frequency stabs, only to be stripped away to make room for a single-note ride accompanied by a return of the secondary melodic line. The valleys are tensely bare and the peaks explosively lush in near-perfect juxtaposition. The Kid's various melodic lines are eerie and highly effective for a night's peak hours, when the room is full and the crowd more willing to give themselves over to beatless moments of wild (and foreboding) melody.

Dusty Kid- Psika (Original Mix)



Though I promised to include a Jacek Sienkiewicz track in this post, I decided to opt for a track by another Pole, Lukasz Seliga, who goes by the name SLG. With records on Trapez and a wide following in his home country and Germany, Seliga is among the Polish DJs making serious headway into the rest of Europe's burgeoning techno scene.
From the city of Lodz (pronounced 'woodge'), most famous for its film school, Seliga brings us a track called "Lodz Fabryczna," a funky tech-house number that gives insight into SLG's style. First off, the bass line drives the track, providing the electro-house beat with a degree of glide and wetness that would otherwise be missing. Distorted secondary bass moves in eight-notes on the third and fourth counts, and high-frequency surges couple with more stabbing synths to create some heady and wonderfully busy moments. Additionally, synth washes and secondary percussive elements add a bit of spice to the somewhat stringent beat.
Many of SLG's tracks work in similar ways-- working with syncopation and exceedingly funky bass-lines, he builds tracks that are busy without being noisy, minimal without being 'spare' in his choices, and so on.
So go on, enjoy "Lodz Fabryczna," from the Sopot EP on Channels Records.

SLG- Lodz Fabryczna

Next post: who knows? Something good.

see the light come

Though there is something to be said for Dubfire's lush electo sound, I have never been that keen on what I've heard from him. By chance, though, I decided to give the remix of Dubfire below a listen the other day, and it had a certain Harthouse sound that I can get into.

Upon further listening, DJs Maurizio and Danyelino really strip Dubfire's original down to its most slamming and interesting bits. "Roadkill," in other words, is brought into close-up: a jumpy, clean synth-line is made into a killer two-note phrase, sometimes delayed and sometimes oscillated to bits; the percussive cymbal loop of the original is mixed higher and a more conscious element in the remix; and finally, the original's overwrought peaks and somewhat alarming prairies are done away with for more heady valleys and siren-whistled peaks. Quite a transformation, and these two Italian transplants better get ready to start playing out a lot more, though if you happen to be in Miami, you can always go see them spin at Blue on Sundays.

Dubfire- Roadkill (Maurizio & Danyelino Remix)

Next post: a track by recent favorites Dusty Kid along with a track from a bit earlier in '07 by Jacek Sienkiewicz.

a moon of jupiter

A lot of techno and house folks dismiss Stephan Bodzin's productions as being the height of plebeian house. Ronan Fitzgerald, for example, has said that he doesn't think he could take a whole album of Bodzin on an I Love Music forum about the new album, Liebe Ist. Admittedly, Bodzin's sound can be a bit heavy-handed and he is a slut for collaborations, but despite these issues, I think that Bodzin's output is overwhelmingly stellar.

His new album aside, Bodzin has been keeping busy in 2007. One of his newest releases continues his relationship with Marc Romboy, a match-up that created last year's sentimental sleeper hit, "Phobos." This newest collaboration is along the same lines-- there is an obvious love of melody and simple, pleasing harmonies in the tracks. However, the pair's newer work shows more of Bodzin's influence in certain areas: the harmonic bass-line is higher in the mix than in previous efforts, and the excellent panning is more in line with Bodzin's recent solo releases than past works with Romboy. Worth mentioning that the mixing is also much less dry than on "Phobos," for one.

What remains especially similar to the two's past efforts, though, is that there is an overwhelming tone of sadness to these tracks. They tug at the emotions in the same way that a track like "Dexter" does: by repeating phrases and utilizing major/minor shifts in chord progressions to create an atmosphere that caresses in a most melancholy manner. The track below, then, is a good night-ender-- it allows for some swaying, some hands in the air, some lolling of the head with one's eyes closed. It feels regal and holy, yet in a completely different fashion than other recent tracks like "Feuervogel," which is almost too clean to be earnest. "Callisto" sounds earnest.

Stephan Bodzin & Marc Romboy- Callisto (Original Mix)



Tomorrow: look forward to a fine new minimal electro remix by Miami DJs Maurizio and Danyelino.

it's time...

So, as promised, here are two versions of the famous track by Cajmere, "Percolator." Also known as Green Velvet, the insanity and prolific output of Curtis Jones is well-documented elsewhere. It is certainly worth checking out the recent Cajmere vs. Green Velvet Mix CD on Ministry of Sound, if you get a chance-- it gives a pretty good introduction to Jones' aesthetic. All right, enough talk, get percolatin'.

Cajmere- Percolator (Keep Movin' Mix)

Cajmere- Percolator (Green Velvet Mix)



I first heard the "Percolator" while watching clips of Detroit's still talked-about "New Dance Show" on YouTube. Spawning from the 1980's show "The Scene," it showcased techno and house music dancing at its early stages in its home city.

You wish you could dance like this.

The first clip showcases party people on the catwalk doing their interpretations of "Percolator," and the second is just...well, one of the best clips on YouTube in its evocation of the club dancing experience. That and DJ Jesse the Body's mixing is fucking sick.






Next post will dish out a classy new Stephan Bodzin/Marc Romboy collaboration, a remix of Dubfire by Maurizio, and another new techno goodie. Check back!

space saviour

Brendon Moeller has been reading from the Book of Basic Channel. He has mainly been focusing on the slow insertion of deep, dubby chords into minimal tech beats, and washes of hazy, spaced-out synth pans. Though he personally takes a more wet and funky-- nay, liberal-- approach than Basic Channel do, he is in agreement with the rhythmic intensity, bouncing bass and low rumblings of the Fathers. However, where Basic Channel sometimes seem to be transmitting hermetically from a deep well, Moeller is coming from a galaxy beyond our vision, satellites beaming his explorations of the other unknown to earth in crystalline sound; in using such a system, massive delay is a pleasant side-effect.

Moeller's most important treatise is here again, thanks to Third Ear Recordings. It is possibly one of the most astounding EPs of recent memory. Please do believe, not because I say so, but because "Saviour" tells you that you must.

Brendon Moeller- Saviour (Original Mix)

Two versions of "Percolator" and some ghetto-tech fun next post.

stone doppler

The three men of Cobblestone Jazz have always been great producers, but I haven't necessarily always been as enthralled with their sound as other minimal minds out there. Their big hit of last year, "India in Me," had much going for it, admittedly, but lacked a certain drama that I like in my techno. Understanding that their tracks are great to mix with, I always kept them in mind as a group who did some great work but who weren't exactly my cup of tea-- "Dump Truck," for example, is a lush little collection of organ synths and blips that could have been released in mid-90s Detroit, but the lack of punchy beats in that track always bothered me enough that I found it hard to play that often.

Well, my mind has been changed by their new track on the Cocoon Compilation G, entitled "W". The beat is round and full from the get-go, the bass-line is a nice 1-2-3-1 loop, and the melodic line is hypnotic as any could be. After hi-hats and the idiosyncratic heavily-filtered and delayed vocal bits come in, the track takes off: congas subtly slide into the mix, and the melodic line is augmented by a soft-synth counterpart, leading to a break of spine-riding synth drownout. When the beat comes back in, it isn't a surprise, but a wonderful supplement to the overwhelming synths. Along with little background bits that sound oddly like a jew's-harp, the track resolves with none of the elements evident at its beginning. It is, in many ways, a perfect six minutes of dreamy, dancefloor-ready techno. On Sven Vath's Cocoon Recordings.

Cobblestone Jazz- W (Original Mix)

Tomorrow's post will dish out a track from the excellent Brendon Moeller EP, Space Jazz, along with a special revisiting of Cajmere's "Percolator."